Rice is the main cropin this area, although winter wheat and rape are also planted. The analysisshows that TEMP and RAIN are above average, while RADPAR is below average by 4%.Potential biomass (BIOMSS) shows an increase of 10% when compared to the five-yearaverage. Duringthe past five months, early rice has been planted and harvested, while laterice has been planted in some parts of the region. Average regional NDVI andNDVI profiles indicate that crop condition approaches the average of the lastfive years. Although NDVI fluctuated widely, crop condition in the central andnorth of the region remained above average, which is confirmed by the average VCIxvalue of 0.89 and the VCIx map. In late May and June, crop condition in thesouth and southwest of the region (in particular in northeast Guangxi and northernGuangdong province) dropped sharply because of heavy rainfall. Only a smallamount of arable land is uncropped, with those sites mainly scattered along theYangtze River. The map of the potential biomass also shows that crop conditionin most parts better than the five-year average, with a spectacular BIOMSSincrease of 10 percent when compared to the five-year average.

Figure4.10. Crop condition Lower Yangtze region, April-July 2014